


fire, ice, and everything nice

by chenjisthisandthat



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Betrayals, Blood and Violence, Explosions, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Hospitals, M/M, Park Jisung Superhero!!, stabbings, superhero au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 02:01:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29324382
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chenjisthisandthat/pseuds/chenjisthisandthat
Summary: Jisung swings his legs back and forth, dangling them off the side of the building as he leans back on his hands, staring up at the sky.He sighs. He’d much rather be at home with his roommates, eating dinner all together. But alas; duty calls.He's Asteroid, and he's got a job to do.
Relationships: Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	fire, ice, and everything nice

**Author's Note:**

> Just CW for blood and violence! Check out the tags. Someone DOES get stabbed, things DO get blown up.

Jisung swings his legs back and forth, dangling them off the side of the building as he leans back on his hands, staring up at the sky. 

It’s been a quiet night. Just him, the moon, and the sprinkle of trash littering the city streets. And maybe a cloud. He tilts his head. A bunny-shaped cloud. 

He sighs. He’d much rather be at home with his roommates, eating dinner all together. But alas; duty calls. 

It takes him a second to register as loud sirens fill the calm air. He scrambles to stand, running to the edge of the building and firing his grappling hook. Once it lands, he leaps off and swings down to the ground, feeling the familiar whip of the wind in his hair. He hits the ground running, retracting the hook. Jisung sprints down the sidewalk, rounding the corner before stuttering to a stop. 

Flashing red and blue lights bounce off the surrounding buildings, a line of police cars surrounding a single figure, one that Jisung would recognize anywhere. The stark orange and blue swirls on his super suit. The casual posture of Kryopyre’s proud figure, leaning against the side of a white van with open back doors to reveal yet another older CEO tied up in the trunk. 

“Took you long enough. My bones were about to decompose,” Kryopyre drawls. “Hey, Asteroid. Long time no see.” 

Jisung sighs. This cocky bastard. He nods to one of the officers, walking past the front lines. 

“Just give it up,” Jisung orders. “We’ve got you surrounded.” 

“And what’s that giving you?” Kryopyre asks, a smirk on his face. The mask covers the top half of his face, but Jisung can unfortunately still see his stupid grin. 

“The advantage.” Jisung crosses his arms. 

Kryopyre’s grin only widens. “Always so serious, Asteroid. You need to …” He creates a plume of fire in his hand. “Lighten up.” 

“Good god, you’re so dramatic. You’re just like my roommate.” Jisung snaps, summoning a small storm cloud. The dark cloud floats above Kryopyre’s head, opening up and dumping rain onto him. Kryopyre doesn’t even flinch. He places a hand on the cloud, freezing it then pushing it away with ease. 

“Please, Asteroid, we’ve been through this before.” His smirk grows. 

“Let’s just do this the easy way,” Jisung says, fully prepared to chuck Kryopyre into the nearest wall with a miniature tornado. “Please.” 

Kryopyre coos. “You’re so polite.” 

Jisung glares at him, waving his hand and sending a sharp gust of wind toward Kryopyre. He deftly backflips away before he lands softly on his toes. He darts toward the van, but before he can even enter it, Jisung brings both his hands around, lifting the van off the ground with a powerful, roaring gust of wind. 

Kryopyre places his hands on the front metal of the truck and melts it away as his palms glow a bright orange. 

“Are you just causing property damage for no reason?” Jisung shouts. 

“Yeah!” Kryopyre shouts back. “Fuck you!” 

Jisung’s blood boils.

Jisung nods toward Kryopyre, a signal for the police to go after him as he begins to _fucking skip_ down the street before grappling up to a nearby building and disappearing around the corner. 

Jisung sighs, carefully setting the damaged truck back down on the concrete. 

“We can take it from here, Asteroid,” one of the police says, resting a hand on Jisung’s shoulder. 

“Thanks,” Jisung says. He’d really like to get home right about now and get a nice Sungchan hug. He’d even take a Chenle hug. Maybe both at the same time if he can convince his roommates to. 

But he keeps his shoulders high and set back, thanking the police officers and smiling at the businessmen they’re untying. Jisung thanks them once more before setting down the street in a light jog. The wind is chilly on Jisung’s exposed cheeks, only half-covered by his mask. 

He pauses after a while, right outside a dark alleyway. He glances up and down and even across the street, ensuring the coast is clear. Satisfied with the vacancy, he darts into the alleyway, finding his backpack behind one of the large ugly trash cans and quickly changing out of his dark purple supersuit and back into jeans and a t-shirt. He quickly stuffs his suit in his backpack, pausing for a second only to realize that his shoes are gone. 

“Shit,” he mumbles. Someone must’ve taken them. Jisung sighs. At least he has socks. 

The rest of the walk home is quiet, aside from the constant buzz of the city. The streets are mostly empty and there aren’t many cars. It’s past midnight, so all that’s left is the distant sound of muffled music from clubs. 

Jisung reaches their apartment shortly, slipping inside (luckily nobody stole his building key) and walking upstairs. He reaches their small apartment, putting his key in the old metal doorknob and turning it all the way. He doesn’t announce his arrival, instead shouldering off his backpack and placing it on the hook by the door. He’s slipping his socks off his feet when Sungchan’s voice startles him. 

“Ah. I was wondering when you’d be back.” 

Jisung jumps. He wasn’t expecting anyone to be up. 

“Oh, hi, Channie,” Jisung says, turning to see his roommate standing in the doorway. 

“Hey.” Sungchan smiles. “How was your night out?” 

Jisung shrugs. “Same old.” 

Sungchan hums. Suddenly, his gaze drops. “Where are your shoes?” 

“Um, you know, it’s funny you ask that—” 

“That’s the third pair this month,” Chenle says sharply, appearing by Sungchan’s side. 

“Oh, great, he’s awake,” Jisung groans. 

“Hey, I’m right here!” Chenle squawks. 

Sungchan chuckles. “Whatever. Come on, Jisung, you look exhausted.” 

Jisung certainly feels exhausted. He walks farther into the apartment, following Sungchan into their shared bedroom, bidding goodnight to Chenle. 

“You really shouldn’t stay out so late,” Sungchan chides. “I know you like going out with your hyungs, but you seem pretty tired between work and this.” 

Jisung yawns, waving a hand. “Don’t worry about me, Sungchannie. I am wide awake.” 

Sungchan hums. “Sure you are.” 

Jisung quickly changes, nearly falling over while putting his pants on. He yawns again. 

“Wide awake my ass,” Chenle says, scoffing from the doorway. 

Jisung turns around. “Didn’t we just say goodnight to you?” 

Chenle shrugs. “Not tired.” 

“That’s because you sleep at, like, four am,” Sungchan says. “You have a terrible sleeping schedule.” 

Chenle scoffs. “It’s not terrible.” 

“No, Channie’s right. It’s pretty terrible.” Jisung yawns again. 

“And yet I’m somehow more awake than Jisung is,” Chenle says. Jisung ignores him in favor of crawling into bed, pulling the fluffy comforter up to his chin. 

“Goodnight, Chenle,” Jisung says, glaring across the room. 

Chenle laughs. “Goodnight, Jisung ah.” 

“Don’t let the door hit you on the way out,” Jisung calls. Chenle laughs again, sauntering out and closing the door behind him. 

“He’s something, isn’t he?” Sungchan asks, shaking his head and smiling fondly. 

“Yeah, something, alright,” Jisung grumbles. 

Sungchan laughs, ruffling Jisung’s hair before climbing into his own bed across from Jisung’s. 

“Goodnight, Jisung,” Sungchan says softly. 

Jisung finally relaxes, sinking into the mattress. Moonlight streams through the gap in the curtains, softly illuminating Sungchan’s features. 

“Goodnight, Sungchannie.” Jisung smiles. 

  
  
  
  


The next time Jisung changes behind the trashcan in his favorite alleyway (the only one free of rats), he makes sure to stuff his shoes in his bag so nobody takes them, before hiding the bag behind the can. 

After checking outside the dinky alleyway, he dashes into the streets, grappling up to the nearest building and taking a seat. The sun is high in the sky, warming up the cool concrete. It’s fall now, and winter is coming in, bringing colder nights and shorter days, so Jisung relishes in the warmth while he can. 

He eats his lunch on top of the building—just a sandwich—before swinging down and heading in the direction of Kyropyre’s base, which he’s been scouting out. 

“Today’s the day,” Jisung mutters. “Today’s the day I’ll actually bust in there.” 

“You know, you look rather stupid walking and talking to yourself,” comes an annoyingly familiar voice from his left. Kryopyre slides up next to him. 

“I’m going to your base,” Jisung says confidently. 

Kryopyre hums. “Are you now? Even though I’m not there?” 

“Is that not where you’re headed?” 

Kryopyre shrugs. “I was just gonna follow you.” 

“Great. So we’ll get to your base, and then we can fight.” 

“To the death?” Kryopyre asks, wearing his catlike smile. 

Jisung stops walking, looking at him in surprise. Kryopyre bursts out laughing. 

“Man, you should’ve seen your face! Don’t worry, Asteroid, I’m not gonna kill you.” 

“Well, that’s a relief,” Jisung mutters. They pass an old lady giving them very odd looks. 

“You need to loosen up.” Kryopyre elbows him. “You know, we could go on a date sometime.” 

Jisung flushes. “You’re—I—you—you’re supposed to be my enemy!” 

“I know, but I bet you’re probably pretty cute under the mask.” Kryopyre winks. 

Jisung stares at him in shock. “Where is all this coming from? And no. I’m not going on a date with you.” 

“Why? Got your eyes on someone else?” Kryopyre smirks. 

“Maybe,” Jisung says quietly, hoping Kryopyre doesn’t hear him. 

But he gasps. “Oh my god, who?” 

“I’m not telling you!” Jisung exclaims, nearly stepping on a piece of gum stuck to the sidewalk. “You know, we aren’t friends.” 

“We could be,” Kryopyre points out. “If you’d just let me finish my evil monologuing for once, you might actually understand why I do what I do.” 

“Nope.” 

“Come on, just once.” 

“Nope.” 

“So, it all started when I was a boy—” 

“Absolutely not.” 

Kyropyre laughs. “Alright, fine. Well, we’re here.” 

They reach a large warehouse with boarded-up windows on the first and second floors. Jisung shoots up his grappling hook to the top of the window, and he’s yanked up to stand on the board. He jumps, swinging and using the momentum to break through the window, landing on the scaffolding and rolling. He stands on the rafters, peering down at the large, empty warehouse. 

“You know, I could’ve let you in through the door!” Kryopyre shouts. 

Jisung laughs. He walks over to the stairs, walking down. 

“It’s empty,” Jisung says. “Why is it empty?” 

“I would tell you that, if you ever let me finish my goddamn monologuing.” 

Jisung laughs again. “Can we beat each other up yet?” Beating each other up is a lot more comfortable than … whatever this is. They’re acting like … friends. 

“Sure, just come a little bit closer.” 

Jisung does as he says, promptly getting punched in the face. 

“Aw, fuck,” Jisung says. “You fucking suck.” 

“You literally asked if we could beat each other up.” 

“Whatever,” Jisung grumbles, straightening. He immediately leaps into action, bringing his right foot up and aiming for Kryopyre’s head. Kryopyre ducks with ease, but he’s unprepared for the kick Jisung throws upon landing. It collides with his shoulder. Kryopyre grunts, stumbling slightly as he struggles to restabilize. Jisung spins, leaping with the momentum to send a kick towards Kryopyre’s head, only to notice Kryopyre’s smirk a second too late. Kryopyre swings his arms forward, trapping Jisung’s foot between his arms and throwing him to the ground with one swift motion.

Jisung rolls over quickly, rising into a low crouch where he’s met with a spike of ice mere millimeters from his throat. Kryopyre is grinning now, about to speak when Jisung swings his left leg upwards, his shin colliding with the spike of ice and breaking it in half. He uses the momentum to turn around and bring his leg up into a kick aimed straight at Kryopyre’s waist. Kryopyre blocks, bringing a ball of fire into his hand. The fire licks up Kryopyre’s wrist, and his grin widens. Knowing what’s about to occur, Jisung quickly dives out of the way as a blast of fire sears past him and singes the tip of his hair. Jisung rolls up to his feet, collecting a ball of electricity in his hand. It crackles, and Jisung shoots the bolt of lightning right past Kryopyre’s head with a blinding flash. Kryopyre stumbles, falling over and landing on his behind as his eyes squeeze tight. Jisung stands over him, collecting another threatening ball of electricity in his hand. 

“I win,” Jisung says triumphantly 

“And what are you gonna do, arrest me?” Kryopyre taunts. 

“Yes, yes I am,” Jisung says coolly. 

“No, you aren’t. I could literally stand up right now.” Kryopyre pushes himself away, as if to prove his point. He doesn’t stand. “I know you won’t electrocute me.” 

Jisung makes the ball of electricity grow larger. “Who’s to say I won’t do that?” 

“You’re a hero,” Kryopyre counters. “You don’t kill people.” He stands. His watch beeps. 

“Ah, that’s my cue,” Kryopyre says. “I’ll catch you around, space boy.” 

And he walks away. 

Jisung lets him walk away. 

Fuck.

“Stupid!” Jisung hisses, finally coming to his senses. He can’t believe he just let Kryopyre go. How could he be so stupid? Getting thrown off because Kryopyre called him _space boy_. Jisung checks his watch. It’s fine. It’s fine. He has to go meet with his boss anyway, and what his boss doesn’t know won’t hurt him. 

  
  
  
  


“Jisungie! What’s got you in the office?” Jaemin asks, coming up to him from across the room, just exiting the elevator. 

“Oh, hey, hyung,” Jisung says, smiling. He thanks the secretary for checking him in and turns to face Jaemin. “I’m here because Ten wanted to see me.” 

Jisung shakes his head. “So I take it you aren’t quitting?” 

“You know I can’t,” Jisung says apologetically

“I know, I know. You’re too loyal for your own good, y’know?” Jaemin purses his lips.

Jisung shrugs. “I should go, hyung. I don’t want to be late.” 

“I’ll see you around, then. Stay safe out there.” Jaemin smiles. 

“I will,” Jisung says, nodding. He walks over to the elevator, pressing the button for the top floor. The top floor is entirely empty save for Ten’s office, which takes up the entire penthouse. He exits the elevator and crosses the large, empty room. There are windows on three sides, the only walled side being the one behind Ten’s desk. The room is void of decorations aside from a single small photo on Ten’s desk of him and his husband, the owner of Neo Corporations. Jisung cautiously approaches his desk. 

“Jisung, so good to see you,” Ten says, smiling warmly. “Have a seat.” He gestures to one of the two plush teal chairs. Jisung sits. 

“You know.” Ten leans on his desk, folding his hands. “You are my most valuable hero.” 

“I am?!” Jisung asks, surprised. 

Ten smiles again, his catlike grin. “You are. You have a lot of potential. You’re very strong.” Ten taps his finger slowly on the desk. “However, you have one problem.” 

“Oh …” Jisung’s heart sinks. Is he gonna get fired? 

“Don’t look so worried, Jisungie. It’s easily fixable.” Ten clears his throat. “You’re too pure, too kind. I have a task for you, but I don’t know if you can do it.” 

“I can do it,” Jisung says quickly, eager to prove himself. “What’s the task?” 

“Oh, no.” Ten pauses. “I don’t know if you’re ready.” 

Jisung frowns. “But hyung, I’ve already learned so much. I’m doing all my training and everything.” 

Ten chuckles. “I’ll tell you in a week, alright? In the meantime.” He stops tapping his finger. “I’d like to offer you a raise.” 

“Really?” 

Ten laughs brightly. “You’re so shocked. Jisung, you’ve been doing well lately. You've stopped Kryopyre multiple times.” 

“I guess I have,” Jisung says sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. 

“Well. That’s all for now. I’ll see you in a week, Jisung. Take the rest of the day off.”

Jisung nods. “Thanks, hyung.” 

Ten smiles, a glint in his eyes that Jisung can’t decipher. He shrugs it off, thanking Ten and leaving. 

  
  
  
  
  


The walk home is quick, and before he knows it, he’s changed and letting himself into their apartment. 

“Hey, Sung,” Chenle greets him, his arms crossed as he leans against the side of the hallway. He’s wearing one of Jisung’s hoodies. “How was work? You’re out early.” 

Jisung shrugs. “Boss let me out. But it was weird. I think one of my coworkers is flirting with me.” 

Chenle squints. “Flirting with you. Huh.” 

Jisung nods. “Yeah, flirting with me.” 

“Who’s flirting with Jisung?” Sungchan asks, appearing next to Chenle. 

“Chenle, why are you wearing my hoodie?” Jisung asks. 

Chenle looks down at his outfit. 

“Oh, I just felt like it,” Chenle says, cheeks slightly pink. 

“I didn’t even notice.” Sungchan laughs. 

Jisung shakes his head, fighting to keep a fond smile off his face. He’s really not bothered by Chenle wearing his clothes. If anything, it makes him feel all warm and fuzzy. 

“Come on,” Chenle says. “Why don’t we go have lunch?” 

Jisung finally smiles. He follows Chenle and Sungchan into the kitchen. Chenle busies himself with cooking, while Jisung and Sungchan hang out in the kitchen. Sungchan throws his arm around Jisung’s shoulders. Jisung happily tucks himself into his side, relaxing. 

“So, Jisung, how’s dance been treating you?” Sungchan asks. 

“Decently. But! Ten offered me a raise!” Jisung exclaims. “So, uh, that’s exciting.” 

Chenle holds his hand out for a fist bump, which Jisung happily gives. 

“You’re doing better than I am,” Chenle snorts. “My boss threatened to fire me two days ago.” 

Sungchan laughs. “What’d you do this time.” 

“He didn’t like the prank where I stole the batteries from his mouse.” 

Jisung and Sungchan both laugh. 

“In his defense, I didn’t like that when you stole my mouse’s batteries back in college,” Jisung says. 

“Yeah, yeah.” Chenle waves flippantly, continuing to cook. 

“Sungchan? How’s your day been?” Jisung asks, resting his head on Sungchan’s shoulder. 

Sungchan shrugs. “Half-decent.” 

“Alright!” Chenle steps away from the stove, turning off the heat. “Let’s eat!” He claps. 

Jisung cheers quietly, slipping out from Sungchan’s arm and taking a plate, leaving the kitchen and sitting at the table in his usual spot. Sungchan and Chenle join him, and they all sit together. 

Lunch goes well. It’s nice hearing how Chenle and Sungchan have been doing, laughing and joking with them. It’s been a while since they’ve all sat down together. 

It’s nice. Jisung is happy with them. 

He’s at peace. 

  
  
  


Jisung slips through the window of Kryopyre’s base quietly this time, standing up on the rafters. He can hear footsteps. He walks over to the railing, carefully peering over into the empty warehouse. 

Kryopyre is pacing. Just pacing. He’s got his hand on his chin, tapping, and he’s mumbling to himself. 

“You know, you look rather stupid walking and talking to yourself,” Jisung says. Kryopyre jumps, whirling and looking up. 

“Oh, great, you again,” Kryopyre mutters.

Jisung frowns. That’s not a typical Kryopyre response. 

“Um, yeah? I’m here to try to kick your butt again?” 

Kryopyre sighs. “Can we do this another day?” 

Jisung’s frown deepens. He walks to the edge of the staircase, beginning to walk down. 

“Um … are you … okay?” 

Kryopyre waves him off. “I just have a bad feeling I can’t place.” 

Jisung nods slowly, reaching the bottom of the staircase. He’s not supposed to care. Why does he care? They’re enemies.

Jisung is about to speak when he hears a quiet beeping. 

“Do you hear that?” Jisung asks. His heart rate starts picking up. 

“Hear what?” 

“Hear th—” He’s cut off as the near corner of the warehouse explodes. Jisung is thrown across the room, colliding with the far wall and collapsing onto the ground. He groans. His entire body throbs. His vision blurs when he opens his eyes, and he can barely make out a figure running toward him. 

“Space boy!” Kryopyre yells. Jisung’s eyes fall shut. His head hurts. He’s tired. He’s so tired. 

“Space boy, wake up, we need to get out of here,” Kryopyre says. His voice is a lot closer now, but it’s bouncy. Foggy. The loud ringing in Jisung’s ears overpowers the sound of Kyropyre’s voice. 

“Come on.” There’s a hand on his shoulder. It feels as though he’s underwater. His head hurts. He wants to sleep. “Come on, stay awake, please, please stay awake.” 

Jisung manages to force his eyes open. Kryopyre kneels in front of him. He takes Jisung’s shoulders, pulling him up to sit. 

“Come on, space boy, help me out here. You can’t die on me, Asteroid. Who’ll thwart me if you die?” He pulls Jisung’s arm around his shoulders. Jisung blinks. He’s vertical. Huh. 

“You suck, you know that, right?” Kryopyre says. “Come on, just try to walk or we won’t make it out of here alive.” 

Walk … Jisung can walk. He places his feet on the ground, slowly taking a step. His head hurts … 

“There you go,” Kryopyre says gently. “Nice work, space boy.” 

“Thanks,” Jisung croaks, finding his voice. 

They hobble over to the door in silence, with only the sounds of a crashing and burning warehouse in the background. Kryopyre kicks the door open, pulling them out and bringing them a good distance away to a nearby alleyway. 

He carefully lets Jisung down, setting him against the wall and then kneeling in front of him. 

“Are you okay?” Kryopyre asks. 

Jisung groans. His entire body aches, and he still just wants to sleep. 

“You care?” he grunts. 

Kryopyre shrugs. “Who else am I gonna monologue to?” 

“But I never let you finish.” 

Kryopyre shrugs. “Whatever.” He pauses, just staring at Jisung. His eyes widen the slightest bit. “I should go. The firefighters are here and I can’t be caught saving your life.” 

Jisung manages a wave. “Bye.” 

Kryopyre smiles softly, before taking off down the alleyway. 

Jisung shuts his eyes, and slowly drifts off to sleep. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung wakes up to a dull beeping. 

“Jisung! Oh my God, you’re awake,” Chenle hurries over. Sungchan follows him. 

Jisung blinks, rubbing at his eyes. “Um, hi, guys. What are you … Where am I?” 

“Hospital,” Chenle says. “They found you passed out near a burning warehouse.” 

“They? Wait, who?” Jisung panics. Was his identity revealed? 

Chenle and Sungchan exchange a look. 

“Well … um, don’t worry, not everyone knows. Just the hospital workers, and us.” Chenle smiles apologetically. “We’re sorry, Sungie.” He takes a seat in the chair next to Jisung’s bed, taking his hand. 

Jisung groans, dropping his head back on the pillow. “Fuck. Well, congrats, guys, cat’s out of the bag, I suppose.” 

Chenle squeezes his hand. “It’s alright, I mean. The hospital won’t tell anyone, and neither will we, so you’re good!”

Jisung sighs. “I still … I don’t know, I don’t want to endanger you guys.”

“Don’t you worry,” Sungchan says, a glint in his eyes. “We can handle ourselves.” 

“I know, I know, but you guys don’t have powers. It could be dangerous.” 

“Sungie, we’ll be alright.” Chenle squeezes his hand again. “Just have faith in us.” 

“I’m sorry.” Jisung meets their eyes. “I’m sorry for not telling you, and I’m sorry for putting you in danger like this.” Tears well in his eyes. He feels terrible for endangering his friends. 

“How did you survive?” Sungchan asks. 

“Um, he saved me. My nemesis. He saved my life.” 

Chenle’s eyes widen in surprise. “Really? Kryopyre? The villain you’re always fighting?” 

Jisung nods. “How did you know that’s his name?” 

Chenle rolls his eyes fondly. “Silly. You’re always all over the news with him. You two are notorious.” 

“Oh.” Jisung laughs. “I had no idea.” 

“Do you ever watch the news?” Sungchan asks.

Jisung shakes his head. “It’s always depressing. I kinda just ignore it.” 

Sungchan hums. “Do you even know what Kryopyre does?” 

“Kinda? He mostly just captures old dudes and threatens them.” 

Sungchan purses his lips. “Yeah. He terrorizes them, makes them scared for their lives and takes them away from their families. So he may have saved your life, but I don’t forgive him for anything he’s done. I don’t even believe he saved your life. I would’ve expected he’d leave you dead.” 

Jisung frowns. “Channie, he’s really not that bad. He always returns them, and he really did save my life. I’d be dead if he didn’t bring me out of the warehouse.” Jisung doesn’t understand. He knows Kryopyre’s a villain but he never … He never thought about him that way. 

“You’re blinded by your own naivety, Jisung, and it’s gonna bite you in the ass someday.” 

“Be nice,” Chenle chides, holding Jisung’s hand tightly. “He’s literally in a hospital bed.” 

But if everything Sungchan says is true ...

“It’s okay,” Jisung says. “Sungchan’s right. He’s a villain, I may owe him my life but… He’s still a villain.” 

“Just don’t forget that he’s also human,” Chenle says, smiling. 

Jisung nods. “I won’t. How long do I have to be here, by the way?” 

“Well, according to the nurse you have enhanced healing, so probably only another day or so,” Sungchan says, finally smiling. It’s strained. 

Jisung frowns. “I can’t wait two days. Kryopyre could do so much in that time.” 

“Whatever he’s doing, I’m sure your fellow heroes at the agency can handle it,” Chenle says, rubbing his thumb over the back of Jisung’s hand. 

“Yeah, Jaemin and Mark have it covered,” Sungchan says. 

“I guess …” Jisung mutters. “I still don’t like it.” 

“I know, Sungie,” Chenle says, smiling apologetically. “But think, Kryopyre is probably healing as well, so he’ll be laying low for a few days.” 

“Good point,” Jisung says. He yawns. “I think I’m gonna rest now. Thank you guys for being here for me.” 

Sungchan smiles, while Chenle beams. 

“Of course. Get some rest, Sung,” Sungchan says. 

Chenle leans forward, quickly kissing Jisung’s forehead. “Yeah, get some rest.” 

Jisung’s cheeks flush. “Night,” he mumbles, averting his gaze. Chenle and Sungchan leave the room. Jisung sighs, sinking into the admittedly not very comfortable hospital bed and staring up at the peeling ceiling. 

He eventually drifts off, dreaming of Kryopyre’s familiar grin. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung has never been more grateful to be able to patrol. He’s sitting on his favorite building, some random entertainment company, and staring up at the clouds. 

The past couple days have been a lot, and he’s still unsure of what to make of Kryopyre. Everything Sungchan said made him sound so terrible. But at the same time, Jisung knows Kryoypre. He pretty much works with him. Kryopyre is witty but harmless. He threatens and fights but he’s got more bark than bite. He saved Jisung’s life. 

He _saved_ Jisung’s _life_ . He could’ve left Jisung to die but he _didn’t_. 

Jisung sighs. The peace is nice. 

He hears a single loud beep, then the bottom floor of the building next to him explodes and the building begins to collapse. The peace shatters. 

Jisung yelps, scrambling to his feet. There could be people inside. There are probably hundreds of people inside. Jisung gulps, hurriedly grappling over. Then it registers. He knows which building that is. That’s Chenle’s job. 

He swings in through a broken window. The building is … almost entirely empty? 

It’s eerie. Jisung hurries through the halls, calling Chenle’s name. He goes to his office—a small cubical on the tenth floor—and he’s both relieved and scared to see his chair empty. 

And that’s when the floor gives way below him. He falls with a shout. He needs to get out of here, and fast. Chenle must’ve not gone to work that morning. Or he’s stuck in traffic, or he made it out. 

Or he’s gonna die. 

But the whole office is empty. Surely that means Chenle wouldn’t be the only one left? He needs to get out. 

An explosion goes off a mere twenty feet in front of him. Jisung brings up a wall of wind, protecting himself from the blast. The building begins to crumble. Before he knows it, there’s debris falling all around him. He crouches on the floor, curling up and creating a sphere of wind around himself in an attempt to shield from the building crumbling around him. 

He holds it until the rumbling stops, screwing his eyes shut and praying to every entity out there that Chenle’s safe. 

Eventually it does stop. Jisung opens his eyes to find nothing but darkness. He creates a small ball of sunlight, illuminating the space around him. 

He’s surrounded by rubble. He’s trapped. 

“Fuck,” Jisung whispers. He’s about to send a distress signal to Jaemin when light streams into his small cavern. 

“Oh, thank fuck. There you are,” Kryopyre says. 

Jisung blinks, slightly blinded by the sudden light. 

“How did you find me?” Jisung asks as Kryopyre shoves a piece of rubble off. He extends a hand. Jisung tentatively takes it, allowing Kryopyre to pull him out. 

“I saw you go in, so I went after you,” Kryopyre says. They’re on top of a sea of rubble, high above the city. The top floors are all gone, fallen into the building next to them. 

Jisung doesn’t say anything, just looking around at all the wreckage. 

“I don’t understand,” Jisung says. “Why was the building empty? Why was it blown up? How was it empty?” 

Kryopyre shifts uncomfortably. “I’m not sure,” he says. 

“You’re lying.” His voice went up a pitch, Jisung realizes. 

Kryopyre scoffs. “I am not.” 

Jisung gives him an unimpressed look. 

Kryopyre sighs. “Alright. Fine. I think whoever blew it up was trying to kill me.” 

“Kill you?!” Jisung yelps. 

Kryopyre nods. “I mean. It’s nothing new. I’m a supervillain, of course people are gonna try to kill me, but… I work my day job here. I’m pretty sure they told everyone else not to come in then blew it up to get me.” 

Jisung relaxes. “That means Chenle’s okay.” 

“Chenle?” 

“Oh, um, uh, he’s a friend.” 

“Just a friend?” Kryopyre smirks. 

“Yes!” Jisung squeaks defensively. “Just a friend. No feelings whatsoever.” 

Kryopyre’s smirk widens to a grin. “I didn’t mention any feelings.” 

Jisung flushes, his eyes widening. “Fuck.” 

Kryopyre laughs. “So you have a crush on your friend named Chenle?” 

Jisung groans, dropping his head in his hands. “We’re supposed to be enemies. You don’t get to tease me about my crushes.” 

Kryopyre waves a hand. “Why don’t we sit and chat?” 

Jisung tentatively nods. “Alright.” 

They clamber around the wreckage, over to the edge where they take a seat. 

“You should tell him,” Kryopyre says, hugging his knee. His other leg dangles off the edge. The sun is just beginning to set. The sky is littered with pinks and purples, the bottoms of the clouds illuminated. 

“Tell Chenle?” Jisung asks. 

Kryopyre nods. “Yeah! What do you have to lose?” 

“Him.” 

Kryopyre chuckles. “If he’s really your friend, you won’t lose him over a confession.” 

Jisung shrugs. He glances at Kryopyre. There’s something so familiar about him … 

“I never noticed,” Jisung says. 

“Noticed what?” 

Jisung smirks. “That I’m taller than you.” 

Kryopyre blinks, staring right at him. “You are not.” 

Jisung laughs. “I am!” 

“Bullshit.” 

Jisung laughs again. “That fact makes me very happy.” 

“Whatever,” Kryopyre mutters. 

A silence falls over them, just the distant hum of the city in the background, and the constant wail of sirens. 

“Why do you keep saving my life?” Jisung asks. “That’s twice you’ve saved me. You’re my enemy.” 

“We’re both human,” Kryopyre says. “I still have humanity. I do terrible things but I have my reasons.” He elbows Jisung. “If only you’d let me finish monologuing.” 

Jisung laughs. “I don’t wanna hear your lame monologue.” 

Kryopyre rolls his eyes. “Of course you don’t.” 

Jisung’s watch begins to buzz. “Ah, shit. I should probably go let everyone know I’m alive.” He stands. 

Kryopyre nods. “I’ll see you around?” 

“Yeah.” Jisung shrugs. “I’ll see you around.” 

  
  
  
  


When Jisung finally reaches home after consoling a fearful Jaemin, he just wants to drop straight into bed. 

He unlocks the front door and is immediately tackled in a hug by Chenle. Jisung is surprised at first, but relaxes, wrapping his arms around Chenle and holding him tightly. 

“Today was so scary,” Jisung mumbles. 

“I saw the news,” Chenle says. “I’m so glad you’re okay.” He sighs in relief.

“I’m okay. I’m just glad you didn’t go to work today,” Jisung says, burying his face in Chenle’s shoulder. 

“Me, too,” Chenle says. 

Jisung takes a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of Chenle’s laundry detergent. 

He pulls away slowly, taking Chenle’s hands. 

“I need to tell you something,” Jisung says, recalling Kryopyre’s words from before. He’s about to open his mouth again when someone clears his throat behind them. 

“What on earth were you thinking?!” Sungchan asks once Jisung turns around, dropping one of Chenle’s hands but holding the other still. “You could’ve died, Jisung. You would’ve died if Kryopyre didn’t find you.” 

“What are you talking about?” Jisung asks, confused. 

“Sungie, you can’t just jump into collapsing buildings.” 

Jisung frowns. “I’m a hero, Sungchan, that’s what I do. There could’ve been people in there.” 

Sungchan sighs. “I know, I know. I just don’t want you to get hurt.” 

“I’m okay. Kryopyre saved me again. I know you hate him but he really isn’t that bad. He’s still human.” 

Sungchan scoffs. “You can’t seriously be defending him.” 

“He saved my life, Sungchan.” 

“He’s going to kill my father!” 

Jisung’s eyes widen. “What?” His grip on Chenle’s hand tightens. 

Sungchan sighs. “My dad’s a businessman,” he mutters. “I’m worried he’ll be his next target.” 

“Oh,” Jisung whispers. “I had no idea.” 

“But you know Kryopyre doesn’t kill,” Chenle says. “He’s not going to kill him. He never kills.” 

Sungchan’s expression is dark. “There’s always a first.” 

Jisung pales. He never considered that. 

He lies awake that night, staring up at the ceiling. Kryopyre just seems so _human_ . So _real_. There’s no way he’d actually kill anyone. He’s kind to Jisung. He’s never actually hurt him and he’s saved his life twice. 

But there’s no denying what Sungchan’s saying. 

Either way ... 

Something’s not right. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung anxiously presses the elevator button for the top floor. He rocks back and forth on his heels as the elevator slowly rises, eventually reaches the top. The doors slide open. 

“Come in,” Ten calls. Jisung gulps, walking into the office and crossing the large penthouse.

“Have a seat.” He smiles. 

Jisung does as he says, sitting in the same plush teal chair as before. However it feels different ...

“You’ve done well this week,” Ten says. 

Jisung frowns. “I nearly died twice. I didn’t stop Kryopyre once.” 

Ten waves a hand. “Either way, you’re alive and I’m proud.” 

Jisung nods slowly. Strange. 

“However, I’m worried Kryopyre’s actions will make what I’m about to ask of you a bit difficult.” 

Jisung furrows his brow. “What are you …” 

Ten clears his throat. “I want you to kill Kryopyre.” 

“You want me to _what?!”_ Jisung’s jaw drops. “No, no way. Hyung, I ... I can’t kill someone, I just can’t.” 

“You can use lightning, can you not?” Ten tilts his head innocently. 

“I mean, I can, I just—” 

“Then you can kill someone.” Ten hardens his gaze.

Jisung stares at him in horror. “Hyung, no, please. Please don’t make me do this.”

“I’ll give you one week, Jisung. Prove your loyalty. Prove that you’re a hero,” Ten says lightly. 

“Hyung, please—” 

“This discussion is over. You may have the rest of the night off.” 

“But—”

“No.” There’s an air of finality to Ten’s words. 

Jisung bites his lower lip. “Okay. Thank you.” 

He turns on his heel and runs. He runs the entire way home and by the time he’s made it upstairs he’s already crying. His hands shake as he puts his key into the door. He shoves the door open, stumbling inside and kicking his shoes off. 

“Jisung?” Chenle asks, appearing at the end of the hall. “What’s wrong?” 

Jisung shakes his head, his shoulders shaking with sobs. Chenle hurries over to him, quickly collecting him in his arms. Jisung clings to him, burying his face in Chenle’s shoulder. 

“He wants me to kill him,” Jisung cries. “I can’t do it, Chenle. I can’t kill him. I don’t want to kill him. I can’t. I just can’t. I really can’t.” 

Chenle shushes him gently. “You don’t have to,” he says. “You don’t. Tell him no.” 

“I tried,” Jisung sobs. “I really tried. He said I have to. I have to to prove I’m a hero.”

“No, Sungie, no. You are a hero. You’re already a hero. He’s wrong. Heroes aren’t murderers.” 

“I don’t want to be a murderer,” Jisung cries. 

“I know, I know. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” 

“It’s not,” Jisung wails. 

“Is Jisung okay?” Sungchan asks worriedly, coming into view. 

“He, um, not really, no,” Chenle says. 

“What’s wrong?” Sungchan rests a hand on Jisung’s back, rubbing up and down. 

“He said I have to kill him,” Jisung says through his sobs. “I can’t kill him. I don’t want to kill him. Please don’t make me kill him.” 

Sungchan doesn’t say anything. 

“It’s okay, Sungie. It’s gonna be okay,” Chenle says. “I promise you it’ll be okay.” 

“No,” Jisung says. “It won’t.” 

Chenle sighs, only holding him tighter until his tears finally die down. 

“Just … We both love you, Jisung. A lot,” Chenle says, pulling away with a soft smile. “We’re here for you, whichever choice you make, just … remember he’s human too.” His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes. 

Jisung nods, sniffling. “Thank you.” 

Chenle takes his hand, squeezing. “Of course. Why don’t you get some rest?” 

“Okay,” Jisung mumbles. 

  
  
  
  
  


He lies awake again. Staring up at the ceiling and pondering what to do. 

“Jisung,” Sungchan says after a while, glancing over at the door. Jisung follows his gaze to see the door is shut. 

“Yeah?” 

“I think you should do what your boss says.” 

Jisung’s eyes widen. “You what?” 

Sungchan shrugs. “You could help a lot of people.” 

“Goodnight, Sungchan,” Jisung says, staring back up at the ceiling. 

“Don’t push me away. I just want what’s best for you.” 

_Then why are you telling me to become a murderer?_ Jisung can’t help but wonder. 

It terrifies him. 

“I’m gonna go check on Chenle,” Jisung says. “Goodnight.” He slips out of bed, leaving the room and heading across the hall to Chenle’s. 

He knocks. 

“Come in,” Chenle calls. 

Jisung carefully opens the door. Chenle is propped up in bed, reading a book. 

“You okay?” Chenle asks. 

Jisung shakes his head. 

“Do you want to cuddle?” Chenle puts his book down on the bedside table, scooting over and making space beside him. Jisung closes the door and walks over, slipping under the covers. He leaves a bit of space between them. 

Chenle chuckles. “Sung, I know we haven’t done this since high school, but come on. You can come closer. We’re cuddling.” 

Jisung scoots closer, tentatively wrapping his arms around Chenle’s waist. Chenle wraps an arm around his shoulders, holding him close. 

Jisung shuts his eyes, pushing away all of the thoughts about Kryopyre, instead just focusing on the warmth that Chenle provides. 

He drifts off. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung finds Kryopyre’s new warehouse relatively easily. He slips in through the first floor, unsurprised to see Kryopyre interrogating a businessman strapped to a chair. 

“Hey, lay off,” Jisung says. 

Kryopyre turns, a grin on his face. “Ah, space boy. It’s so good to see you. I was just trying to tell Mr. Jung here that his physical laborers working in the factory are suffering from being paid below minimum wage and working in very dangerous conditions.” He folds his hands behind his back. “He doesn’t seem to understand. And that’s why I do what I do, there are so many—” 

“Nope, no, no, I’m not gonna hear your stupid monologue.” 

Kryopyre sighs. “Dude, you suck.” 

Jisung shrugs. “Whatever, release him.” 

“I’m not done talking to him,” Kryopyre says. “If I release him now, then nothing will change. His workers will still suffer while he makes many times more than they do for doing a fraction of the work.” 

Jisung glances at the terrified businessman, who oddly enough resembles Sungchan. 

And that’s when it clicks. 

“You can’t just kidnap people! That’s my roommate's dad!” Jisung exclaims. 

“Then I won’t hurt him, simple as that, but he’s actively hurting people. He needs to change what happens in his factories.” Kryopyre’s tone is harsher than Jisung’s heard before. 

Jisung frowns. “That doesn’t make it okay to kidnap people.” 

“Sometimes change calls for more drastic measures. That isn’t my fault.” 

“You’re literally the one who kidnapped him!” 

“What are you gonna do, then?” Kryopyre asks. 

Jisung gulps. He really doesn’t want to have to fight Kryopyre. “I guess I’ll fight you.”

“Yeah? Go ahead.” 

Jisung approaches him, throwing the first kick around, aiming for Kryopyre’s head. Kryopyre ducks, and even manages to block Jisung’s other kick toward his side. Jisung jumps and spins, aiming for his head once more, and, just like the last time they fought, Kryopyre catches his foot between his arms. He smirks, hurling Jisung onto the floor. Jisung leaps to his feet, glaring at Kryopyre. He collects a small whirl of wind and surrounds Kryopyre in it, quickly clenching his fist as the wind slams together, throwing Kryopyre to the side. He hits the wall with a grunt, collapsing into the ground. Jisung immediately feels bad for hurting him. 

But he has to. He has to kill him. 

Jisung walks over to Kyropyre as he’s slowly pushing himself up. Jisung stands over him, collecting a ball of lightning in his hand. It would be so easy, _so_ easy to just strike him down. He’s right there, defenseless. 

Kryopyre turns over to face him, scooting back against the wall. He’s not fighting back. He’s not moving. His chest falls and rises with shallow breaths. If Jisung were to guess, he seems to be panicking. 

“Don’t,” Kryopyre pleads. “Please.” 

“I have to,” Jisung says, voice quivering slightly. “I have to kill you.” _I don’t want to kill you_. 

“You don’t, you really don’t. Please, space boy. I don’t want you to live the rest of your life in regret,” he begs. 

“You sound like my roommate,” Jisung scoffs. Too much like his roommate. Kryopyre reminds him so much of Chenle. That only makes it harder. “I don’t have a choice, I have to kill you.” The ball of lightning grows larger. Jisung is trembling. He doesn’t want to do this. 

“You aren’t a murderer, space boy. You aren’t. Asteroid is a hero, not a killer,” Kryopyre says desperately. 

“I could be,” Jisung says, his voice breaking. “I could kill you.” 

Jisung finally makes eye contact with Kryopyre. His gaze is filled with fear. 

Jisung screws his eyes shut. He has to. He has to do this. He brings back his hand, the heat in his palm growing stronger. 

Chenle would be so disappointed in him. So would Jaemin. So would the rest of society. 

“You’re not a killer, Jisungie,” Kryopyre says. 

No. He’s not, and he never will be.

Jisung drops his hand, the lightning dissipating, and stumbles away. He turns on his heel and runs. He runs and runs and runs through the back streets until he finally reaches his favorite building. He grapples up to the rooftop and bursts into tears, dropping onto his hands and knees by the edge. He just almost _killed_ someone. He almost took someone’s life. He nearly became a _murderer_. And why? Just because some asshole told him to? 

Jisung can barely breathe. He just almost killed someone. He curls in on himself. How shameful. He doesn’t deserve to wear this supersuit anymore. He doesn’t deserve to be a hero anymore. 

He screws his eyes shut, trying to prevent more tears from leaking out. He feels _terrible_. He just wants to see Chenle, but he’s at work. Chenle might never want to see him again. He’ll probably be so disappointed in him. 

How could Jisung forget that Kryopyre is also _human?_ That he also has a family and a life and friends and maybe even a partner. Jisung might even _know him_. 

“Jisung?” 

Jisung shoots up. He relaxes upon seeing Jaemin and Mark, two of his fellow heroes, walking toward him. 

“Hyungs, I, I—” He cries harder.

“My Jisungie,” Jaemin coos, walking over to him and pulling him in for a hug. “It’s okay.” 

Jisung shakes his head. “I’m a terrible person, and an even worse hero,” he cries. 

Mark rubs up and down his back. “What happened? You should take your mask off.” 

Jaemin pulls away, helping Jisung take off his mask so he stops soaking it with tears. Jisung takes the mask, gripping it tightly in his hand. 

“Ten, he, he told me to kill Kryopyre, and I almost did,” Jisung sobs. Mark hugs him this time, cradling the back of his head against his shoulder. Jisung cries a wet spot into Mark’s supersuit, and he feels even worse about it. 

“But you didn’t,” Jaemin says softly. “You didn’t. It’s okay. You aren’t terrible, you just made a mistake.” 

“I—I almost killed someone.” Jisung can barely breathe. 

“Sung, you gotta calm down,” Mark shushes him. 

“You should quit,” Jaemin instructs. “I’ve been telling you for months, you really should quit.” 

“I think I will,” Jisung says miserably. “I don’t deserve to be a hero anymore.” 

“No, silly, you should quit and find a new agency. This one is too corrupt. Heroes are never supposed to kill, and if Ten is telling you to kill then he’s blinded by something. That isn’t good.” 

Jisung finally begins to calm down. He pulls away from Mark and sniffles, wiping his eyes. 

“I guess,” Jisung says. 

“He never should’ve put you in that position,” Jaemin says softly. “I really think you should quit.” 

“Okay,” Jisung mumbles. “I’ll tell him soon.” 

“Good, now go home and don’t beat yourself up too much, okay?” Mark says gently. 

Jisung nods. “I’ll try,” he says miserably. 

Mark kisses his forehead. “Good.” 

Jisung goes home. The apartment is empty when he walks in. He changes, grabs a bite to eat, then curls up on the couch and tries not to cry again. He ends up putting the news, watching as Mark captures another villain and kicks their ass. Jisung could never do that. He’s a failure. 

He misses the sound of the lock clicking, but he does hear Chenle announce his arrival. 

Jisung doesn’t move from the couch, instead waiting for Chenle to walk into the living room. 

“Sungie? You never watch the news. Are you alright?” Chenle sounds off. 

“I almost killed him,” Jisung croaks. “I almost killed a human.” 

“But you didn’t,” Chenle says. “You didn’t, and that’s what matters.” 

“I’m quitting,” Jisung says. 

Chenle nods, relief evident on his features. He takes a seat on the couch next to him. “Good. That’s good. Any superhero agency boss that tells you to kill people is corrupt.” 

“Yeah,” Jisung says numbly. 

“C’mere,” Chenle says, opening his arms. Jisung scoots into him, throwing his legs across Chenle’s lap and resting his head on Chenle’s shoulder. Chenle wraps his arms around him. They stay like that for a while. 

“I’ll quit tomorrow,” Jisung mutters. 

Chenle kisses his forehead. “Good.” 

  
  
  


Jisung is even more nervous heading up to Ten’s office. More nervous than ever before. What if Ten says no? Or gets mad? 

“Come in,” Ten calls once the elevator opens. He looks up. “Ah, Jisung. I hope you come with good news?” 

Jisung feels like he’s gonna be sick. “Um, not quite.” 

Ten’s eyes narrow. “Alright, well, what is it then?” 

Jisung sucks in a breath. It’s like pulling off a band-aid. A very big, very, very sticky band-aid. 

“I want to quit,” Jisung says. 

“You want to quit my agency? And, what, find a worse one that won’t support you as well?” Ten raises an eyebrow. 

Jisung nods. “Yes.” 

“Now, Jisung, you know I can’t let you do that.” Ten opens his desk drawer. “You’re very valuable to me. I can’t have you working for someone else.” He pulls a gun out of the desk drawer. 

“Hyung?” Jisung asks fearfully. 

Ten cocks the gun, spinning it once in his hand before pointing it directly at Jisung. Jisung shoots a blast of wind toward Ten just as the gun fires. He manages to stop the bullet, but only barely. 

“Oh, we’re doing it this way.” Ten opens the drawer again, and Jisung runs toward the window. He sends a powerful stream of wind toward the window, shattering it. He runs toward the window and dives out of it without hesitating. It takes him a second to realize he left his belt at home. 

Well, fuck. 

He doesn’t even have time to regret. Someone comes swinging through the sky, practically snatching him out of the air. Jisung grunts at the impact, but quickly grabs onto them. He looks up, surprised to see Kryopyre. He was expecting Mark. 

They tumble onto a nearby building, landing roughly. Jisung is relieved to see Ten’s penthouse is multiple buildings away. 

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Kryopyre snaps. “You can’t just jump out of buildings! And forgetting your belt at home? Are you stupid?” 

Jisung looks at him, surprised. 

“What would’ve happened if I wasn’t nearby? You would’ve died, Jisung. I can’t lose you.”

“How do you … How do you know my name? And that I left my belt at home?” Jisung furrows his brow. 

“You really haven’t figured it out?” Kryopyre asks, incredulous. 

Jisung shakes his head. Kryopyre huffs, yanking off his mask and chucking it onto the concrete. 

Jisung’s jaw drops. 

_“Chenle?!”_

“Yes, stupid,” Chenle huffs again. 

Jisung doesn’t even know what to say.

“Close your mouth, you’ll catch flies,” Chenle scoffs. “And I’m still mad at you for doing something stupid.” 

“I—you’re Kryopyre?!” 

“You really had no idea?” Chenle raises an eyebrow. 

Jisung shakes his head. 

Realization hits him like a truck. “Oh my God.” Jisung covers his mouth with his hands. “I almost killed you.” He feels like he’s gonna be sick. 

Chenle shrugs. “Whatever. I mean, you didn’t. I’m still alive.” 

Jisung shakes his head. “You’re my best friend and I almost _killed_ you.” 

“Yes, but you didn’t, and we’re both fine.”

Jisung feels dizzy. “Oh my God, wait, I told Kryopyre about my crush on you. Wait, oh God, wait, that means you know about—Oh, Jesus.” Jisung is gonna pass out. What the fuck. His best friend is the exact same supervillain he’s been fighting for the past six months. He almost killed him! And he told him about his crush! What the fuck!

Chenle raises an eyebrow. “You’re being dramatic,” he says. “Come here.” 

Jisung does as he says, walking over to him. Chenle brings up a hand, cupping his cheek. Jisung leans into his touch. 

“Are you okay?” Chenle asks, softer than before. 

“I just can’t believe he’s you.” 

“Will you finally let me monologue now?” Chenle asks, dropping his hand. 

Jisung scoffs, but he’s smiling. “No, are you kidding?” 

Chenle smacks his arm. “You bastard.” 

“Maybe just once. I am curious why my best friend since kindergarten is a supervillain.” 

Chenle shrugs. “Big businessmen do so much better monetarily and always abuse their workers. I only capture them to try to threaten or scare them into changing their policies and treating their workers better. I know it’s drastic, but …” 

“I guess you have good intentions.” Jisung frowns. 

“Yeah,” Chenle says. “I do.”

“Then I think it’s alright.” Jisung shrugs. “I mean, what do I know about good and evil. My boss just tried to kill me,” he says bitterly. 

“He what?” Chenle’s eyes widen. 

“Why do you think I jumped out the window? I told him I wanted to quit and he pulled a gun on me.” 

“Oh my God,” Chenle gapes. “You have to report him.” 

“To who?” Jisung asks miserably. 

Chenle taps his chin, humming. “I may know a group who can help us.” 

Jisung furrows his brow. “There’s only one other superhero agency in the area, that’s 127.” 

Chenle smirks. “That’s what you think. I may also be a part of a slightly morally gray group called Dream. Jaemin and Mark are a part of it too.” 

Jisung’s jaw drops. “Seriously?!”

Chenle laughs. “Yeah, a couple of my villain friends are in it too. There are about six of us right now. You should join!” 

“So we’d be working together?” 

Chenle shrugs. “We each kinda just do our own thing and look out for each other, since half of us are heroes and the other half are villains. But yeah, we’d be kinda working together.” 

Jisung nods slowly. “This is a lot to take in.” 

“I’m sure. You’re handling it pretty well.” Chenle smiles. 

“Thanks,” Jisung says. 

“I’ll call them tonight,” Chenle says. “Let them know we have a new enemy.” 

Jisung nods, shivering. “Ten really wants both of us dead.” 

Chenle takes his hand. “We’ll be alright. Why don’t we go home for now? I’ll carry you.” He winks. 

Jisung flushes. “Shut up.” 

Chenle laughs. “But seriously, come on, let’s get off this rooftop and back home where it’s safe.” 

Jisung nods, his shoulders slumping. Safety does sound pretty great right about now. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung wakes up in the middle of the night to a loud crash. He shoots up, grabbing his watch and putting it on. He looks to the side to see Sungchan isn’t in his bed. His bed is neatly made, as if he simply left. 

Jisung frowns, carefully slipping out of bed and crossing the hall to Chenle’s room. The door is shut. He tries to open it only to find it’s locked. Jisung’s frown deepens. He takes a step back, raising his leg and kicking the door right next to the doorknob. There’s a snap and the door swings open. 

Chenle’s curtains are flying around like mad, the window wide open. His bed is empty, and the sheets are half on the floor. His lamp is in shatters on the ground. 

“Ten,” Jisung hisses. “That motherfucker.” 

Jisung races back to his room, quickly changing and grabbing his belt. He sends Mark and Jaemin a distress signal and a message to let them know what happened and where he’s headed. 

Chenle, luckily, never takes his watch off, and gave Jisung his contact information the previous day. Jisung manages to tap into his location. He’s at a warehouse on twenty-third street. 

Jisung swings through the quiet city. It’s nearing 3:00 am now, and he’s exhausted. He shakes it off. He doesn’t have time to be exhausted. 

Jisung reaches the warehouse quicker than expected. He peers in through the windows at the top floor. Chenle is chained between two rafters, head rolled onto his shoulder and cloth in his mouth. Jisung’s blood boils. Why is Ten so _horrible?_

He shares his location with Mark and Jaemin, before slipping in, quietly walking along the rafters and down the staircase. Chenle spots him and shakes his head wildly. Jisung holds a finger up to his lips. He walks slowly, making sure to stay in the shadows. 

“Jisung,” someone whispers. Jisung jumps, turning to see Sungchan. 

“Channie, what are you doing? You shouldn’t be here,” Jisung says, confused. Why is Sungchan there? Chenle lets out a muffled shout. Jisung frowns, turning to look at him. He’s struggling against the chains, tugging at them. 

He turns back to Sungchan, furrowing his brow. Sungchan is right in front of him. 

“Sorry,” Sungchan says, tilting his head with an apologetic smile. “You picked your side?” 

“Sungchan? What are you—” He’s cut off as Sungchan moves his arm. Jisung catches a glint of silver before a piercing pain explodes in his gut. Sungchan yanks the knife out just as quickly as he stabbed, and Jisung stumbles backwards, holding his wound. It burns.

He collapses onto his side with a weak groan. He can faintly hear the chains clinking as Chenle tugs against them, screaming through the gag. There’s blood on his hands, but all he can really focus on is the burning pain. It’s thousands of times worse than any pain he’s felt before. He gasps for breath, clutching his wound. 

“I bet you regret quitting now, don’t you, Jisung?” Ten says, wearing his familiar catlike smile. He kneels in front of Jisung. Jisung can just make out Chenle behind him, freezing the chains. Jisung presses the distress button on his watch again, praying for his friends to hurry up. 

“And now ...” Ten’s grin widens. “Now, you get to watch me kill Kryopyre myself. Well, if you last that long.” Ten laughs. Jisung whimpers, peering past Ten again just in time to watch Chenle drop down from the chains, pulling the gag from his mouth. 

Ten whirls around at the sound of Chenle hitting the ground. 

“Get the fuck away from him,” Chenle growls. 

“I haven’t even monologued yet,” Ten drawls. “Don’t you want to know why we want to kill you?” 

“Because your boyfriend’s a CEO, dumbass. I wasn’t expecting someone.” He glares past Ten at Sungchan. “To be helping you.” Chenle balls his hands into fists. “What the fuck is wrong with you!” he shouts. “You stabbed one of your best friends because you didn’t like that your dad’s a terrible person?” 

“Shut the fuck up about my father,” Sungchan snaps. 

Jisung hears the familiar _shink_ of one of Chenle’s ice creations, and he turns his head enough to see Sungchan almost entirely encased in ice. 

Ten snaps his wrist down. Jisung watches as the shadows from the corner of the room begin to move, growing into what looks like a large monster, with multiple arms and sharp claws. One of the hands reaches for Chenle. Chenle brings up a wall of sharp ice, slicing off the hand. Another hand comes from behind, grabbing Chenle’s ankle and picking him up before dropping him again. Chenle quickly pulls up a slide of ice, saving his neck. He scrambles to his feet, dashing into the brightest part of the warehouse and firing a large stream of fire toward Ten. Ten simply absorbs it, sacrificing a shadow. 

Chenle grits his teeth, his brows furrowed in anger. He glances to Jisung. Jisung gives a weak smile.

Ten suddenly disappears, melting away into the shadows beneath him. Chenle looks around like a caged animal. Ten pops up behind him, glaring down at Chenle menacingly. 

“Behind you!” Jisung yells, mustering all his strength. He groans, curling in on himself further and shutting his eyes. 

When he opens them again, Chenle’s cornered against the wall, numerous shadows poised and ready to attack. Chenle surrounds himself in a sphere of fire, exploding it outwards. The shadows reel, and Jisung shuts his eyes again as a bright light floods the room. 

And that’s when it hits Jisung. _Light_. 

He musters his strength, creating a ball of sunlight in his palm. God bless weather powers. He closes his eyes, concentrating. The ball inflates slowly, and he manages to, with one last squeeze of energy, shoot light to engulf the entire warehouse. When Jisung finally regains the strength to open his eyes, Chenle has completely trapped Ten in a block of ice. 

“Nice,” Jisung croaks. Chenle races over to him.

“Fuck, Jisung.” 

Jisung smiles weakly. “Hey, Lele.” 

Chenle shakily brushes Jisung’s hair behind his ear, and Jisung relaxes. 

“It’s gonna be okay,” Chenle says, hands trembling. “I’m gonna try to cauterize it. It’s gonna hurt a lot but …” he gulps. “Just hold on, okay?” 

Jisung nods. 

“Okay, okay. I’m gonna roll you onto your back,” Chenle says. 

Jisung nods. 

Chenle carefully maneuvers Jisung onto his back. 

“I’m sorry in advance,” Chenle says. “This is gonna really hurt.” 

“It’s okay,” Jisung grunts. 

Chenle gulps. “Okay, okay.” Jisung hears the sound of tearing fabric. Chenle takes one of his hands. A searing pain completely takes over. The pain is even more intense than the initial stabbing. Jisung lets out a pained cry, screwing his eyes shut and gritting his teeth. It _burns_. It burns terribly, and Jisung can barely breathe. He thinks he might pass out, it’s so painful. 

It lessens suddenly, leaving a duller throb. Tears leak from Jisung’s eyes. 

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” Chenle says, his voice thick with tears. “I’m so sorry, Jisung, I had to.” 

“I know,” Jisung says. “It’s okay.” He feels dizzy and tired. Dizzy, tired, and in pain. He just wants to sleep. He lets his eyes fall shut. 

“No, Sung, don’t, stay awake. Please, stay awake. Please,” Chenle begs. 

“Okay,” Jisung mumbles, forcing his eyes open. Chenle holds an ice block in one hand and fire in the other, melting the ice over the wound. 

“I’m washing it,” Chenle says. “Well.” He gives a distressed laugh. “Trying to.” 

“Don’t cry,” Jisung says quietly. The water is cool on his skin. It feels nice. 

“Kinda hard not to, Ji,” Chenle says, tears dripping down his cheeks. 

“I’m okay,” Jisung says. 

Chenle scoffs, teary-eyed. “You idiot. You just got stabbed.” He sniffles. “You’re so stupid sometimes. Why am I in love with you?” 

“You’re in love with me?” Jisung asks as Chenle shoulders off his jacket, tearing it. Jisung would be surprised, excited even, but he’s exhausted, and hurt, and he doesn’t have any energy remaining. 

“Somehow,” Chenle says. “I have been since high school.” 

“Oh,” Jisung says. “You beat me.” 

Chenle gives a wet laugh. “I guess I’m just cooler than you.” He wraps Jisung’s wound with the scraps of his jacket. 

“Never said that.” Jisung shuts his eyes. 

“Open your mouth,” Chenle says. Jisung does as he says, and Chenle places an ice cube on his tongue. “We gotta keep you hydrated.” 

Jisung hums, allowing the ice cube to melt. 

“Holy fuck, that’s a lot of blood,” an unfamiliar voice says. 

“Did you guys have to bring Donghyuck hyung?” Chenle asks, sniffling. Jisung manages to open his eyes. Five people, all in superhero or supervillain outfits, gather by the door. At the front stands a boy in a red supersuit. 

“I’ll call an ambulance,” another unfamiliar voice says. 

“Thanks,” Chenle calls. 

“So we finally get to meet the boy Chenle won’t shut up about and he’s on the brink of death?” The first voice asks. 

“Shut up, Donghyuck,” Mark hisses. Donghyuck yelps. 

“You don’t shut up about me?” Jisung asks, looking up at Chenle. 

“That is not important right now,” Chenle says. “You just focus on staying alive, okay?” He puts pressure on Jisung’s wound. Jisung grunts at the pain. 

“Yep,” Jisung says, strained. “Sounds good.” 

He’s asleep by the time the ambulance arrives. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung comes around to the familiar beeping once more. There’s a weight against his leg.

He slowly opens his eyes, adjusting to the light. Chenle’s asleep, resting his head on Jisung’s hospital bed. Jisung rests a hand in his hair, mindful of the IV in his arm. 

“You know, he threatened the hospital staff when they tried to tell him he had to leave,” Jaemin says. 

Jisung jumps, looking across the room at him. 

“I guess that’s just supervillain things,” Jaemin says with a smile. “But it’s good to see you awake.” 

Jisung nods. “It’s good to be awake.” 

“I’ll leave you two be. Wake Chenle up,” Jaemin says, heading toward the door. He bids Jisung goodbye and slips out. 

Jisung pokes Chenle’s cheek rapidly until he shoots up, looking around frantically. 

“Hey,” Jisung says. “It’s just me.” 

Chenle turns to look at him, and his shoulders slump. “Oh, Jisung.” He smiles. “You’re okay.” 

Jisung nods. “I’m okay.” 

Chenle stands, leaning down and hugging Jisung. He carefully hugs back, mindful of the IV. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay. You have no idea how much you scared me,” Chenle says. “Don’t you ever do that again. Or jump out of windows, don’t do that either. Also don’t jump into collapsing buildings just to save me, okay? Idiot.” 

Jisung laughs. “Alright, Lele.” He rubs Chenle’s back. “But no promises.” 

Chenle huffs, pulling away and taking his hand instead. 

“God, Jisung, I care about you so much.” 

Jisung smiles softly, squeezing Chenle’s hand. “I care about you, too. It was really scary when I woke up and you were gone, and then I couldn’t do anything to save you.” 

“Except you did,” Chenle says urgently. “You got rid of the shadows just in time.” 

Jisung rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. “I guess I did, yeah.” 

Chenle leans forward, kissing his cheek. “Thank you,” he says quietly. 

Jisung squeezes his hand once more. “Anytime.” 

  
  
  
  


Three and a half weeks later has Jisung out on the balcony of his and Chenle’s apartment. Moonlight shines, a cloud or two blocking some of the stars. It’s a shame. Jisung always loved the stars. 

“Mind if I join you?” Chenle asks. 

Jisung shakes his head. “Not at all.” 

Chenle walks over. He rests his hand on top of Jisung’s, which sits on the cool railing. 

“How are you feeling?” Chenle asks. 

Jisung shrugs. “It’s weird not doing hero stuff but … I’m trying to heal.” 

Chenle nods. “That’s good.” 

Jisung nods. A silence falls over them. 

“Sungchan and Ten are locked up, by the way,” Chenle says. “I’m sure you’ve been wondering.” 

Jisung nods again. “I have.” 

He turns to look at Chenle. Chenle is staring up at the moon, his features illuminated by its shine. The slope of his nose is soft, and his lips are naturally downturned. Jisung has stared at Chenle before, but never this close, never while knowing that Chenle loves him back. 

“Jisung,” Chenle says, turning to face him as well. His gaze flits to Jisung’s lips. Jisung’s heart rate spikes. 

“Yeah?” Jisung breathes. 

“Can I kiss you?” 

Jisung nods quickly. Chenle brings his hands up, cupping Jisung’s cheeks and gently pulling him down for a kiss. Jisung relaxes into the kiss, hugging Chenle close. The kiss is soft, and slow, and definitely long overdue, in Jisung’s humble opinion. 

Chenle pulls away, resting his forehead against Jisung’s. He giggles. “I’ve wanted to do that for so long,” he says. 

“Me too,” Jisung says, leaning in and kissing him once more. 

  
  
  
  


Jisung sits on the top of his favorite building, swinging his legs back and forth off the edge of it. The sun is high in the sky, bringing a brilliant warmth. On his left sits Chenle, hand clasped tightly in Jisung’s own. To his right is Jaemin, leaning on his hands. 

There’s an explosion in the distance, followed by loud screams. 

Chenle, wearing his usual orange and blue suit, smirks. 

“Ready?” he asks. 

Jisung squeezes his hand.

“Ready.” 

**Author's Note:**

> hello!! thank you for reading!! i hope you enjoyed~ this was my first take at writing superheroes so i hope i did well!! stay safe & healthy, homies. 
> 
> \- fran 
> 
> [twt](https://twitter.com/chenjisthisand_)  
> [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/chenjisthisandthat)  
> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/chenjisthisand_)


End file.
